The Samsung Galaxy S III is expected to sell several million units, which is great news for Samsung and its many carrier partners. That’s so far been terrible news for consumers interested in getting their hands on the device because the popularity has made it so hard to come by.

The good news is that Verizon has locked down a solid release date for general availability for the Galaxy S III. Beginning July 10, the GS III will be available in Verizon retail stores and online at VerizonWireless.com. The 16 phone will sell for $199.99 on a two year agreement and will be available in stores nationwide and online.

The 32 GB model will face tighter constraints and only be available at Verizonwireless.com for $249.99; it will arrive in stores “in the coming weeks” according to Verizon. Big Red will sell both Samsung Galaxy S III models in Marble White or Pebble Blue.

Verizon was originally slated to be weeks behind general availability of its rivals, but high pre-order numbers forced AT&T into pushing things back as it struggled to meet demand. AT&T & Sprint just managed to put the phone on sale this week. You can understand why the phone has proven so popular when you read my review of the Galaxy S III.

Keep an eye on www.verizonwireless.com/galaxys3 to get more info on the GS III or to place an order once sales go live July 10, one week from today. Here’s a spec refresher in case you need reminding:

- Android™ 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
- Mobile Hotspot – Share a 4G LTE connection with up to 10 Wi-Fi-enabled devices
- 1.5 GHz dual-core processor and 2 GB RAM
- Share Shot – Create a temporary photo sharing network with a group of friends who are nearby at the same party or event; photos can be taken by any member of the group and shared with the entire group
- S Beam – Share pictures, videos, documents and more by simply touching two Galaxy S III devices’ backs together
- S Voice™ – Featuring natural language recognition, you can control the apps and services used most with words instead of touch
- Pop Up Play – Videos can be played in a small window while customers use the rest of the display to complete other tasks such as typing emails, organizing calendars and updating their social networks
- Evolved camera capabilities – Burst Shot mode instantly captures 20 continuous shots and Best Photo feature selects the best shot to display
- Enhanced camera – 8-megapixel rear camera with zero-lag shutter speed and a 1.9-megapixel front camera so customers can capture pictures and videos of themselves or video chat with family and friends
- microSD™ card slot for expandable memory